Summer has arrived and it’s time to think about how to spruce up your outdoor decor.  Whether it’s replacing old furniture, bringing in more color, gardening, or adding landscape lights, it’s a perfect time to start.  But, what if you don’t have a backyard or a patio?  Not everyone lives in a home that has a backyard or patio. For those of you who don’t have the luxury of having an outdoor space to entertain family or friends or enjoy the benefit of lounging outside to admire the beautiful landscape, you can still bring the decor and fun indoors.  You can transform your interior space into an outdoor oasis full of colors, nature, texture, and light. Here are some ideas to bring sound, sight, touch, and smell of the outdoor experience into your very own living space!

Fragrant Flowers & Plants

What’s better than coming home to a relaxing, beautiful, and fragrant home as if you just stepped out in nature?  Surround yourself with flowers, plants, succulents, bonsai trees, or cacti and watch your home transform into a lovely garden. Plus, indoor plants are very beneficial and a positive force. They are living organisms that remove pollutants from the air by absorbing gases (such as carbon dioxide) through their leaves and roots. Perhaps that is why when most people take a walk outside or go hiking, it feels so calming and soothing to the soul and instantly lifts the spirit.

fenton&fenton

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Most homeowners in San Francisco tend to stick to neutral colors because it’s a trend right now and they don’t want splashes of striking colors or use of bold patterns in their space. So, to liven up the design projects I work on and keep it interesting, I try to introduce encaustic or cement tiles to my clients.  Encaustic and cement tile is popping up everywhere and becoming a trendy addition to interior and exterior spaces based on it’s unique artistry and customizable design.  It’s a creative way to include patterns and natural colors that convey something completely different than ceramic tile or other kinds of materials – you get a Mediterranean vibe.  What exactly is encaustic or cement tile?  A lot of people call it encaustic cement tile as if it’s one and the same, but they are very different.  The name gets confused by everyone even by tile manufactures and tile vendors. Both tiles are un-glazed, but there are very important differences. The main difference between cement tiles and encaustic tiles are the materials that are used and the production process each goes through.  

James M. Davie Design, Inc.

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There’s something so calming yet mystical about butterflies.  They symbolize powerful transformation that leads to spiritual growth and joy.  To me, butterflies represent the” beauty” and “good” in a world of chaos and suffering.   These whimsical creatures have mesmerized so many people, including myself that I had to incorporate a butterfly into my logo to illustrate not only transformation of physical spaces, but also inner transformation of one’s soul. From furniture to carpets and accessories, designers have long been fascinated by these magical creatures.  Butterflies bring lots of vibrant colors and happiness with them, while taking wing and setting the hearts of the design world aflutter with their grace and charm.  Watching them dance as they flutter from flower to flower is truly breathtaking and inspiring.  Butterfly decorations are no longer just designated to kids’ rooms.  It’s become a popular design trend that is celebrated in a variety of spaces with sophisticated accents.  It makes the perfect statement in your home or office that are great conversation pieces.  Check out some ways that you can incorporate butterflies to create a soothing and calming sanctuary!

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If you are looking for a neutral color besides white, beige, or tan, try gray.  Gray is a beautiful neutral color that goes well with anything in my opinion.  However, there are so many options for gray that one can get lost and frustrated just trying to pick out a gray that works for their space.  There are warm grays, cool grays, grays with blue undertones, green undertones, purple undertones, red undertones, or no undertones (which I like to call pure gray). So many options can make one’s head spin.  I have looked at many grays myself but have found one gray to be my favorite –Benjamin Moore’s Gray Owl. It’s described as a cool gray with a cool green undertone.  It’s quite a popular gray and I’ve used it on a few design projects because it’s such a great neutral color to work with.  It did however lean towards a bluish undertone (rather than green) appearing lighter or more muted in different spaces, but still beautiful.  My clients loved how the color turned out in their space. 

Gray Owl is is pretty much a predominately gray color that can display either a green undertone or a blue undertone.  Some color experts say that gray owl leans more on the greener side, but I haven’t seen that in any of the projects I’ve worked on.  It definitely was on the bluer side. However, it really depends on what else is going on in the room because Gray Owl is a fairly reflective color with an LRV of 65.  It can pick up subtle tones in the space from other colors, furniture, floors, ceiling, natural light, as well as bulb color temperature from artificial light.  All these factors can affect how the color looks in the space.  What is an LRV? Each paint color will have a Light Reflectance Value (LRV) which measures the percentage of light a paint color reflects from or absorbs into a painted surface.  At 65 LRV, Gray Owl is definitely towards the lighter side reflecting a fair amount of light which is why I love the color.  It’s not too dark, nor is it too light and it’s worked well in all the spaces I’ve designed. In fact, I recommended Gray Owl to one of my new clients after she spent days looking for paint colors. Her walls were covered from various shades of purple to mustard yellow and beige before I started working with her.  She spent countless hours looking for paint colors and didn’t like any of the ones she selected.  I dropped by recently with a sample of Grey Owl and after putting the sample on all 4 walls, she immediately loved the color just like that!  Again, it leaned towards the blue undertones.  An interior designer can help save you a lot of time because they have the aesthetic eye and the experience to guide you in the right direction. I’ll post a picture once her room is painted.

If you have spent wasted hours looking for the right color for your room and can’t find a neutral color, try Gray Owl.  Get a sample and paint a big enough swatch on your walls.  Not just one wall, but all your walls because the color will look different on each wall based on the amount of natural light as well as artificial light.  Look at the color during the day and at night. It will look different.  You can even specify 25 % lighter or 50% lighter although you’ll lose the original pigment and it starts looking faded and washed out which I don’t recommend.  Whatever you do, don’t just rely on the color swatch at paint stores and don’t rely on brushouts (sample board of the paint color).  Absolutely paint a sample on all your walls.  If you have furniture in the room, paint a large sample next to your furniture and trims to see what it looks like because depending on your space, it can pick up the blue undertone or the green undertone or it might just look pure gray.

Also, check out images online and see how Gray Owl looks in different rooms.   It can give you an idea of how the color works in different spaces and it’s a starting point if you are tired of spending hours looking for a neutral color that’s right for you.  Here are some images of Gray Owl to inspire you. You’ll see some that show gray owl looking more blue and others that pick up the green tones.

Miss Alice Designs

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Now that daylight savings time has kicked in, we all know that it’s the start of spring.  Who doesn’t love spring?  The days get longer, the weather warmer, flowers start to bloom, plants grow, and people are in a better, happier mood.  Spring signifies rebirth, so what better way to generate positive energy and renewal than by giving your home a spring refresh?  Whether it’s decluttering by cleaning your closet, creating a bold floral accent wall, swapping out your bedsheets and drapes, or incorporating colorful accessories, it’s time for a change.  I like to start on a smaller scale. I’ll be painting my boring gray entrance door to a beautiful rich eggplant color.  I’m looking forward to the transformation. Here are a few simple and affordable ideas to help you freshen up your home with spring decor.

HGTV-Photo by Jim Bastardo

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“We must bring our own light to the darkness” – Anonymous

We all go through good times and bad times and no matter how difficult life can be, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.  I met an amazing woman recently who is such an inspiration and an example of hope and light.  Her husband of 7 years left her when they were trying to have a baby, her mother passed away shortly after, and she was struggling to pay off a 6 figure debt while looking for work.  Despite the emotional pain and financial struggles she experienced within a short time period, she pushed herself to keep going.  She didn’t wallow in the darkness.  She got herself back up and discovered the power of her own light. I am amazed at the mental and physical strength of this woman and have a lot of admiration and respect for her. It is truly inspirational and makes me appreciate the challenges we all go through in life.

Despite the struggles and battles you face in your life, you can always create a happy physical environment even in the darkest of times. So how do you do that?  Brighten your place up by replacing, adding, or layering lights if there isn’t much natural light or if you have poor lighting.  An easy and affordable way to do that is to update your light fixtures with the latest lighting trends of 2018 listed below:

ArdomaDesign

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